


RWBY One-shots and Drabbles

by Masterweaver



Category: RWBY
Genre: Character tags to be added as appropriate, Drabble Collection
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-30
Updated: 2021-02-20
Packaged: 2021-02-27 15:33:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 13,936
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22039375
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Masterweaver/pseuds/Masterweaver
Summary: Because everybody has them, here are little works that don't have a home.
Comments: 24
Kudos: 57





	1. An Opening

Ruby Rose slams open the door to the dining room.

“Young lady–” says the old man in glasses.

“Mantle’s heating grid went down five minutes ago.”

“What?!” shouts Robyn, standing up in horror. The look on the other diners’ faces are equally shocked and appalled, though one recovers more quickly than the others.

Ruby looks at her, confusion on her face for a moment, but shakes her head quickly. “I just got a message from an old friend down there,” she explains. “The entire city is getting snowed. If we don’t act now–”

“My word,” says Jacques, his voice expertly laced with dismay. “How could things in Mantle have come to this? If somebody had been better with the supplies–”

“The supply lines,” James starts, but trails off. “I…”

“Perhaps you should rest while we handle this,” Jacques offers. “After all, this may not have occurred if your judgment had never been hampered by the Fall of Beacon.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Jacques.” The woman to his left glares at him. “For the army to act now it needs a leader.”

“Of course. But James has subordinates who could fill that role for him. Letting this tragedy distract us from the issues at hand–”

And then the table shakes, and it takes everyone a moment to realize that Ruby just pounded her fist into it.

“I don’t care about your politics,” she growls, a sound unusually dangerous with her high voice. “People are going to _die_ if we leave them in the cold. You can point fingers _later,_ but right now we need to focus on _saving lives.”_

She straightens up, glaring at the councilmembers across the table. “This is a crisis situation. You are the leaders of this kingdom. The people depend on you to organize what they need to survive. Now I’m going to go out to the party, tell everyone what is going on, get my team, and head down to Mantle. I’ll leave you all here to plan things out, but as far as I’m concerned, anybody who’s still in this room in twenty minutes is a traitor to Atlas.”

“Well, I’m going with you,” Robyn declares bluntly, marching toward the door.

“As am I,” says Penny, standing up.

The general looks at her, stunned. “Penny–”

“It is clear my presence at this meeting serves no purpose,” Penny states. “I would be better utilized assisting the citizens in Mantle, I am… not as affected by the adverse conditions.”

“Are you certain?” Jacques asks, quirking an eyebrow. “After the massacre, they might not trust you very much.”

Penny cringes for a moment. But then, carefully, she reaches behind her back and produces a metal container, holding it out to Robyn.

The woman takes it, slightly surprised. “Your… weapons?”

“I… I wish to make it clear that I am not coming with violent intent. I will entrust these to you until… until you feel comfortable with returning them.” Penny glances away. “I do not feel swords will win this night.”

Robyn looks at the metal pack, glancing sideways at Ironwood. The man is staring at Penny, but his expression is distant. Winter, on the other hand, has a look of pride in her faint smile, one mirrored by the much wider grin on Ruby’s face. Clover, for his part, keeps his expression neutral.

She takes the pack, setting it on her hip. “We’ll talk on the way down.”

Jacques raises an eyebrow. “I’m not sure this is the wisest decision, James. It would be a costly tragedy if the work of doctor Polendina were to be mishandled tonight.”

The general shakes his head. “It is not my decision to make.”

“I thought you claimed to have complete control over her.”

James narrows his eyes. “By which I meant she will follow my orders, not that she is required to have them.“

“An interesting level of autonomy, even for an ordinary huntress, and I think we can all agree that Penny is–”

“Seventeen minutes,” Ruby interjects firmly, glaring at the mustached man. “Have a plan by then.” She takes Penny’s hand, squeezing it softly, and walks out the door.

Robyn overtakes them as they make it out, making it look as though she is leading. She glances over her shoulder at Ruby. “This old friend. Who is she?”

“Maria Calavera,” Ruby says. “Old woman. Cybernetic optical implants.” She pauses for a moment. “A huntress back in her day, before she lost her eyes.”

“You don’t get many old huntresses,” Robyn notes.

Ruby’s quiet for a moment, not quite looking at her. She turns to Penny, who isn’t smiling, but who does give her a grateful look.

“…Cinder Fall made a speech at the Fall of Beacon,” she says, turning back to Robyn. “About how we couldn’t trust any of our leaders, how they were all keeping secrets… and it was that panic, that lack of trust, that attracted the Grimm.” She pauses for a moment. “…which was exactly her plan, if I’m honest.”

“Ruby,” Penny says hesitantly.

Robyn stops, turning around. “Her plan?”

“There was something she wanted,” Ruby said. “Something that she got during the confusion of the Fall of Beacon.”

“The Fall of Beacon was… what, a diversion?”

“Ruby,” Penny says again, a bit more urgently.

Ruby looks at her for a moment. She glances back at the dining hall… then at Robyn Hill. Her eyes fall on the woman’s hand.

“…If you had to choose between trusting Ironwood, or trusting Ozpin… which one would you pick?”

“Ozpin’s dead,” Robyn points out.

"Just… answer the question.”

Robyn sighs. “…frankly, I don’t think I’d choose either of them. They both sat in their towers instead of coming to the people. But if I had to pick one, I’d have to say Ozpin.”

“Funny. Ironwood trusts him too.” Ruby sighs. “More than he trusts himself, really.”

“He’s still dead,” Robyn points out.

Ruby gives her a knowing little smile.

“Ruby,” Penny says, and this one is a worried whimper.

Robyn looks between the two of them again, then back at the dining hall. She takes in the disquiet, the nervousness on Penny’s face. “…you know what,” she finally decides, “now’s not the time. We’ve got a city to save.”

“So we do,” says Ruby, nodding. “Lead the way.”


	2. Not the most romantic confession

Yang grunted as she punched another Sayber into its fellows, triggering the mine she’d planted in its neck and blowing the lot of them up. Her eyes flicked toward the Megoliath smashing through a bar with that hated ‘no faunus’ shorthand sign–one that was instantly dealt a truck to the face by Fiona Thyme, dazing it long enough for May Marigold to rush under and trail a line of orange Dust down its belly.

“Hey Blake?” she said over her shoulder.

“Yeah?” Blake replied, not breaking her gaze from the ice-encrusted Beowolf she was holding back with her sword.

Yang watched the Megoliath explode, her eyes somewhat bemused. “You know all those romance novels you left behind during the Fall of Beacon?”

Blake broke back from the Beowolf, sparing her a glance as she decapitated the creature. “Uh, yeah, you, uh–”

“Read them.” The blonde waved her golden arm. “During my time on Patch.”

“…You went back for them?”

“Uncle Qrow went back for all our stuff–got it all out of the dorm. Your junk wound up in my house… it’s still there, if you want any of it.”

Blake shrugged, looking around the area. “That’s nice, maybe if we–civilians.” She pointed her sword. “Behind the dumpster there.”

“On it.” Yang rushed around the metal box and winced when she saw the pair of children huddled together in the snow. “Shit… Hey kids, come on, we need to get you somewhere warm.”

Fiona’s ear twitched at that, and she turned around with wide eyes as the blonde reemerged holding two terrified bundles. “Kids? Here? Oh that’s… Joanna, we’ve got kids out here!”

A massive woman jumped off a nearby roof and slammed down into the ground next to Yang, shaking her head. “North road’s overrun with Grimm. There’s an old storm sewer two blocks east–”

“I can get us there,” May assured them, her hands glowing violet. “Can you keep the kids warm, fisticuffs?”

“Yang’s a walking space heater,” Blake replied.

“Yeah-huh.” May shot her a look for a moment, before shaking her head. “Keep close and keep quiet–we’re invisible, not inaudible.”

It didn’t take them long to get to the metal disk in the ground; Joanna pried it free with her staff, waving the two young huntresses in as she looked warily in the direction of screeches and snarls. “You two okay alone?”

“We’ll be fine,” Yang assured her. “Once we drop the kids off we’ll come back to help break the line.”

Fiona nodded, handing the kids down to her. “Keep them safe.”

Blake took out her scroll, turning on the light as the hole above was replaced and leading the group down the brick-lined tunnel. “So, what are your names kids?”

“Isa… and, um, this is Astra.”

The dark-skinned child glanced up at her companion’s statement, but didn’t offer any statement.

“Isa, Astra. We’re going to get you somewhere safe, okay?”

Astra took Isa’s arm, and the two of them shared a look for a long moment. Then Isa nodded to Blake, not saying a word.

Blake sighed, standing up and sharing a sorrowful expression with Yang.

The four of them proceeded down the dark tunnel, Blake’s scroll lighting the way forward and Yang’s low-power semblance providing a warm glow in the back. Aside from their footsteps and the occasional echo of the battle above, the tunnel was eerily silent.

“…So, uh, Blake.”

“Yeah?”

“You know how in half of those books the characters waited until they were in life-threatening danger to confess their feelings for each other?”

Blake shot a confused look over her shoulder. “….Yeeeeeees?”

Yang steeled herself, pasting on a deliberately sardonic grin even as her hand trembled. “Can we agree that that’s friggin’ stupid and we should have talked about this months ago?”

“What? No!” Blake protested, spinning around. “The life-threatening danger makes things romantic, right?”

Yang took a look around the storm sewer. “I don’t know about you, girl, but I’m not feeling the romance here.”

“It’s–it’s the whole, you know, sudden realization thing,” Blake explained, rolling a hand. “You know, where it’s a critical juncture and–”

“I think for us that would have been when we fought Adam.”

Blake winced. “Okay, fair enough…”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean–”

“No, you’re right, if–if this were a book that would have been–”

“But what you did say, you know. About not breaking your promise.” Yang smiled softly. “That… that was nice.”

“…Heh.” Blake rubbed her ears awkwardly. “Yeah.”

“Are you two dating?” Isa asked hesitantly.

“That is kind of what I’m asking,” Yang replied.

“Well, uh…” Blake glanced away. “The thing is… It’s never been the right moment to bring it up, right? I’ve tried to find a good moment the past few months, but every time it’s almost been perfect we got interrupted by our teammates or by the Grimm or… just, stuff, you know? I don’t just want to say ‘I love you’ in a casual way where it doesn’t mean anything, I want it to have an impact and–”

“Blake?”

“Yeah?”

“I love you too.”

Blake blushed a bit, glancing away from Yang’s smirk for a moment. “Yeah. See, though… just… saying that here, without the, the ambiance, how do you know what I mean? Is it just ‘I love you, friend,’ or is it ‘hey you’re worth talking to’ or–”

“I love you in a romantic sense,” Yang said, still smirking. “And a sexual one. I mean, if you’re comfortable with that, I don’t want to move too fast if–”

“I might want to explore it–but, uh, maybe we shouldn’t talk about that with, you know, kids here–”

Astra rolled her eyes. “Oh, the innocence of youth, how fragile that it might be, that a single moment of revelation can shatter you so thoroughly. Yet precious as it is, more precious still is the heart of discovery, its unending thrill. If curiosity can survive from the first to the latter, then shall you find all that might matter.”

She took in the eyes on her and shrugged. “My mom was a poet.”

Yang nodded for a moment, sharing a baffled look with Blake.

“I’d love to–to have met her,” Blake corrected herself quickly. “She seems like somebody who understands the art of the scene.” She gave Yang a pointed look. “You know, so the feeling comes out right?”

“Blake, snugglebee, I get what you’re saying, really, but… I kind of want to know where we stand now without needing to jump through hoops,” Yang explained. “I’m pretty certain I know, but just so we’re clear–we do love each other, right? Romantically? We’re in a romantic relationship?”

“…Yeah.”

“Okay.” Yang took a breath. “Sorry if it’s not as heartwarming like it was in your books–I liked the books,” she added quickly, “just… you know. Fiction doesn’t work the same way as reality.”

“…I suppose not,” Blake murmured.

“Hey.” The blonde leaned over, lifting her chin. “Maybe we could save the dramatic romantic moment for the wedding proposal?”

“The…” Blake blushed for a moment. “Yeah, if… we get there, yeah.”

"Okay, you’re in love, we get it.” Isa crossed his arms. “But we’re still in a dark stone tower and there’s Grimm everywhere and I’m a little kid can we get ON WITH IT?!”

Yang chuckled. “Yeah, come on, kids. Blake?”

“Right, right.” Blake shook her head, turning around. “I want to get out of here too. The last time we were in a stone tunnel, it didn’t end well.”

“Ugh, don’t remind me,” Yang grumbled. “Wait, are you talking about the mine or about the Brunswick estate?”

“The Brunswick estate–the mine wasn’t that bad.”

“Not that bad? There were Centinels! Giant bug grimm!”

Blake chuckled. “Oh yeah, you didn’t like those, did you?”

“Bugs are gross! Come on kids, back me up on this.”

“Uh-uh,” Astra shook her head. “Never get involved in a lover’s quarrel, my mom always said.”

“Uh, we’re not–I mean…” Blake put her face in her hands. “Oh geeze, how do I explain this?”

“We’re not lovers until we do gross adult stuff,” Yang said simply.

“But you are girlfriends?” Isa asked.

“Yeah–”

“So you love each other?”

“Yeah, but–”

“So you’re lovers?”

Yang sighed. “I’m actually going to have to give you two the talk, aren’t I?”

“Better you than me,” Blake said, with a little smile on her face.


	3. The Dream Team!

“Hello everyone!”

Raven started, looking around. “What the–?” Her eyes fell on the speaker and widened. “Summer?!”

“Good to see you too, Raven! Don’t worry, you’re technically asleep. All of you,” she clarified, looking at the other two women. “All three of you are asleep. This is a shared dream that I’m making.”

“What?” The white-haired woman stared at her. “How?”

“Magic. Or you drunk some bad vodka. Whatever floats your boat.” Summer shrugged. “I’d explain but honestly it gets really technical and boring and, look, I just want to talk to you all. Yes, Raven,” she added preemptively, “even you. Don’t look at me like that, we haven’t talked in years!”

“You know there’s a very good reason for that,” Raven deadpanned.

“Yeah yeah, everyone thinks I’m dead. Like I said though: Shared dream.” Summer started pouring tea from a pot that hadn’t been there five seconds ago. “It’s really best not to question it. You would not believe the nonsense I had to go through to set this up.”

“Excuse me,” said the final woman at the featureless grey square that apparently served as a table. “I have an inkling as to who you all are, but I would rather have names to put to faces.”

“Right, right!” Summer let go of the teapot, which remained floating in the aether as she put a hand to her chest proudly. “My name’s Summer Rose, and the edgy birb is Raven Branwen!”

“I told you not to call me that,” Raven deadpanned.

“And here we’ve got Willow Schnee–no,” Summer said firmly, taking the bottle that had just appeared out of nowhere and throwing it into the void, “let’s not bring that in here. This is literally a _dream,_ Willow! Your real-world problems only exist here if you let them!”

The white-haired woman sagged. “It’s… not that easy.”

“And you’re Kali Belladonna!” Summer barreled on. “And our daughters are all on a team together. Traveling Remnant and saving the world!”

Raven snorted. “Right…”

“Hey now, just because we screwed up doesn’t mean they will.” Summer took the teapot from midair and started pouring herself a cup. “Isn’t that the entire point of being a parent? Helping your kids be better than you were?”

Willow’s eyes drifted downward. “It should be,” she mumbled, reaching for another bottle.

Kali snatched it with lightning reflexes, tossing it over her shoulder so quickly that it took everyone three or four seconds to realize what had just happened.

“…how…?” Willow asked.

“Dream logic,” Kali replied. “I can be just as fast as I want to be. And when I was younger, I was quite certainly fast.”

Raven tilted her head. “How old are you, anyway?”

“Mmm, why don’t you guess?”

“Because I have no idea how old old is apparently.”

Summer frowned. “Wait, what’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means I’m…” Raven frowned for a moment. “I’ve… discovered that I’m actually far younger then I thought. Relatively recently.”

“What?”

“Yeah, it’s… look, it’s complicated.”

“Huh.” Summer nodded thoughtfully. “You know, that would actually explain a lot, if you and Qrow were younger than you looked back at Beacon. How do you know, though?”

“I… don’t want to talk about it.”

“Does it have anything to do with Yang’s new nightmares?”

Raven’s eyes snapped up. “She’s been having nightmares?”

“Well, not ‘nightmares.’ Uncomfortable dreams.” Summer waggled a hand. “You learn to distinguish between them when you’re between worlds.”

“…Between worlds?” Willow asked.

“Yes, well… Enough about me!” Summer sat down in midair, grinning like a loon as she folded her hands together. “This is four moms of four girls who are good friends, we should all just talk together, you know?”

Kali shrugged. “I suppose that makes sense. Well, I’m in Mistral right now, and things are actually going pretty decently. Admittedly, there is a little tension from the lack of huntsmen and huntresses, but the Menagerie guard force is helping to take up the slack.” She sipped her tea thoughtfully. “It does help that bandit activity has fallen to almost nothing, recently.”

“Ooooooh?” Summer grinned, peering at Raven.

“Mrngph,” Raven mumbled, focusing on her tea.

“…Raven Branwen,” Kali mused. “Of the… Branwen tribe?”

“Hrmph.”

Kali took in the sullen, pained expression on the woman’s face. “Alright.” She turned toward Willow. “And, ah, if I may ask, how are things up in Atlas?”

“…Tense.” Willow sighed, reaching for another bottle–and snapping her hand back with a yelp when a sword sliced it in half.

“If I have to get through this sober,” Raven growled, “so do you.”

Summer pinched her brow with an aggravated sigh. “I go to all this trouble to arrange a peaceful meeting, and you bring a sword…”

“Now now,” Kali pointed out, “we’re all armed at this table.”

“I’m not,” Willow objected.

Kali turned to her with a baffled expression. “You’re… not?”

“No. I… I used to be, but that was… a long time ago.”

“…You know,” Summer pointed out, “this is a dream. If you want to have a weapon, you can have a weapon. Nobody is stopping you.”

“Are you going to use ‘dream logic’ for every argument?” Raven deadpanned.

“Well it _is_ a dream!”

“Oh my god, this is just like your obsession with fruit.”

“It is NOT an obsession. Fruit makes anything better, end of discussion.”

“She puts pineapple on pizza?” Kali asked with a mild grin.

“She put peaches in a hamburger!” Raven exploded. “And pear slices in noodles! I still get sick thinking about her fruit-tossed scrambled pancakes!”

Willow gave her an odd look. “Don’t you mean scrambled eggs?”

“No. Scrambled pancakes.” Raven gestured at the woman in exasperation. “The one thing that’s worse than a terrible cook is a skilled cook who has no limits.”

“Oh come on, I wasn’t that bad!”

“You were absolutely that bad AND WORSE!”

“You know what? We’re settling this.” Summer snapped her fingers, summoning entire platters of strange and bizarre foodstuffs. “You’re clearly biased about this sort of thing, so now everyone gets to eat my masterpieces.”

“Oh, my.” Kali prodded at a colorful bunt cake. “This is…”

Willow pulled out a bottle, stared at it for a moment, and groaned. “Somehow I think this would make things worse.” She tossed it over her shoulder, grabbing a plate of something.

“I’m not eating that again,” Raven said, shaking her head and crossing her arms. “Not even in my dreams.”

Summer pouted. “You always liked my cookies.”

“BECAUSE YOU FOLLOWED THE DAMN RECIPE SUMMER!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah this definitely isn't canon.


	4. The Dead Who Live

“Penny!” Ruby managed a small but genuine smile, waving at the gynoid standing in the doorway. “Come in, pull up a crate!”

Green eyes took in the four people sitting on various boxes. “Is this a team meeting? I don’t want to intrude…”

“We’re not meeting about anything team-related,” Blake assured her. “Right now we’re just…”

Her eyes drifted westward, through the wall and toward a floating city enveloped by pain and rage and shadow.

“…reminiscing, I suppose.”

“Oh.”

Penny stepped in, looking between her and Yang for a moment, before gravitating toward Ruby. Weiss shifted aside, leaving space clear on the large chest she was sharing with her partner for the ginger to set herself down between the two.

Yang chuckled mirthlessly, leaning forward on one arm. “Hell of a night, huh?”

“Yes. I…” Penny paused, looking down at her gloves. “…as… the only one here who was ever technically a member of the Atlas military, I feel an obligation to apologize for–”

“You don’t need to do that,” Yang assured her. “You’re not responsible for the general’s actions.”

“…the general.” Penny shook her head. “Not James, not even Ironwood, just… the general. I know that’s what he is now, it’s just… I remember, sometimes, he would be… kinder.”

“I saw it too,” Ruby assured her quietly. “Oz… Ozpin, he once said we never knew Leo before he became the man we met in Haven. I think I know what he meant now.”

“Is it… wrong, that I miss him?” Penny looked up. “Not the general, I mean, but General Ironwood. Is it… strange?”

Blake sighed, long and low. “I once knew a man who wore a mask so well, that I thought he was the mask. And… I fell in love with the mask,” she admitted, her ears flattening as she squeezed Yang’s hand. “So when he showed he was not that person, I… it was easy to leave the man, but I still had to take time to mourn the mask I’d left behind. The mask he’d shed.”

For a moment Blake was silent, eyes downcast. Then Yang gently turned her chin up, meeting her gaze with a sad but understanding smile. Her ears unfolded as a small, thankful smile briefly graced her own face.

She turned and met Penny’s eyes. “General Ironwood, the one you remember… he wasn’t just a mask. But he’s been discarded like one, like… another of the soldiers that the general sent to die, really. So… I would say it’s okay to mourn the man you remember, even if his body is still moving.”

Penny nodded, her expression a mixture of gratitude and sorrow. She opened her mouth to speak, but shut it quickly.

Weiss took her hand, clasping it firmly in her own grip. Ruby, too, wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

“…he said… he said I was under his complete control. I thought he meant that as a machine I…” Penny trailed off for a moment. “…did he treat everyone that way? Did I just… never notice it?”

“You were inundated with dogma from–well,” Blake tilted her head, “I was going to say from childhood but… did you even have a childhood?”

Ruby narrowed her eyes at her.

“I mean,” Blake quickly explained, “even people born in Atlas aren’t usually told from the time they walk that they’ll join the military. Even Weiss wasn’t pressured to be the perfect heiress from the time she was five. I assume, anyway.”

Weiss gave her a dry look. “No, my private tutoring started when I was _six.”_

“What Blake is trying to say,” Yang interjected, “is that it can be hard to take a good look at the way things are if you’re right in the middle of them. Especially if it means that you have to acknowledge the people you trust to guide you aren’t perfect. You were born and raised on the ideals of the Atlas military and, well, one of those ideals is not questioning orders or where they come from.”

“I wasn’t exactly born, though.” Penny shook her head. “I think… I think the general thought I was the perfect soldier. I don’t know how he’s going to react to learning I…” She shrunk in on herself, her voice growing smaller. “…that I… defected.”

Weiss frowned to herself for a moment. “…Well, the only person who could tell him is Winter. I… I’d like to think that she wouldn’t volunteer that information.”

Blake looked at her warily. “Are you sure about that?”

“She is… mostly loyal to the general,” Weiss admitted. “But there was a point where I had my doubts and… and she told me about Fria. She actually took me to a secure location, and let me into the observation room and explained what the general wanted of her, how she justified it. That was a major security risk. I don’t think the general would have approved… if he’d known.”

Yang nodded slowly. “Going behind his back for her sister…”

“If the general asks, then I might think she’d tell him,” Weiss said. “But… she gave us a head start. I don’t think Winter will say anything about you unless he directly asks. I think she knows in her heart that he’s wrong, and it’s just taking her head a bit to catch up.”

“Weiss,” Blake began gently, “I understand she’s your family and you want to think the best of her–”

“Blake,” Ruby said sternly.

Blake looked around the room, at the way Penny was cringing, at Weiss’s own glower, at Yang’s sadly disapproving gaze.

“…I’m sorry. I just…” She sighed. “I’ve been betrayed before. By people who… who I wanted to think the best of. I…” Blake took a deep breath. “I trust _you,_ Weiss. If you’re absolutely certain Winter won’t volunteer that information, I’ll believe it.”

Weiss’s glower lessened. “I am… fairly certain.”

“Fairly?”

“Before last night, I _would_ have been absolutely certain,” Weiss admitted. “When she looked at me, though… when she asked what I had done–”

“She had her doubts,” Penny assured her. “When we first got the transmission, she explained that her emotions were rising against the general. That they were important, even though she had trained herself to set them aside for her service. I think…” She sat up straighter. “I think she doesn’t really think you did anything wrong. It would just be easier if you did, so that she wouldn’t have to fight you–just convince you of the right way to do things.”

Blake nodded, slowly. “I… can understand that, actually. If she really is so deep into the military, she probably thinks of them as being as much her family as you… and she doesn’t want to have to choose between the two.”

Weiss’s shoulders sagged. “And… and here I am, going against the general, forcing her to make an impossible decision.”

Ruby stretched her hand out to drag her into a one-armed hug. “You did the best you could for everyone. And… for what it’s worth, _I_ think you did the right thing.”

Her eyes drifted to Penny. “Both of you.”

Penny managed a small smile.

“…Winter won’t volunteer what she knows.”

Weiss looked up at Blake. “What? How do you know–?”

“I don’t,” Blake admitted. “Not completely. But… I know people who were put in her position. With fri… with family on both sides. And I know they tried to placate both sides at first. Make sure the fighting was minimal…”

She shook her head. “My point is, Winter will need to make a decision in the end, but until she does she will try to avoid having to. Because she does care about you–that much I’ve seen for myself.”

Yang smiled, leaning into her.

“…I wish…” Penny sighed. “I know it’s silly. I know that there are people who care about me, in this room, out that door… in Atlas… but… I wish the general did. I wish he could care about anyone, like James Ironwood did once.”

Ruby put a hand on hers. “I think we all wish that.”


	5. The Origin Of Yird

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which fridge logic and fan theorizing reach ridiculous conclusions.

Raven was not, by any means, a stranger to the mechanics of life. Growing up in a constantly-moving tribe of bandits meant picking things up fast, and she had pretty well hammered out where babies came from before she was eight. She’d also pretty well hammered out that things going smoothly wasn’t guaranteed, but hey, that was true of anything right? So winding up pregnant was... not a total surprise, and she thought she handled it pretty well.

Better than Summer, anyway, who was constantly fussing over her just because she needed to rest and conserve her strength and sure it was cute and all but for the love of the gods it wasn’t necessary, damn it! Every other week the woman would try to get Raven to one of those fancy little hospitals and every other week Raven would put her foot down--they had a house, Madam Mallari was literally just down the road, and hospitals were for people who were actually sick. And despite her random cravings and occasional vomiting, Raven _was not sick._

Well, not literally sick. Sick of everyone treating her like a delicate glass thing, sure, but not actually physically ill. Plenty of women in her tribe had handled this sort of thing without the fancy-schmancy medibeds or whatever the doctors were using, she could too.

So when the day came where her body decided to finally punt the little gremlin out, Raven’s reaction was basically to just groan that Taiyang wasn’t home and send Summer out to get Madam Mallari. She was ready for pain--or, well, she thought she was ready. She was mostly ready. It was a bit rougher then she had imagined.

Still, it was over, and Raven took a few deep breaths to steady herself.

Then she frowned. “I don’t hear crying. Something went wrong, didn’t it.”

Summer’s expression was pained. “Well... uh...”

“Look, Summer, I lived outside the kingdoms, okay? I know things don’t always go right.” She sighed, sitting up. “If the baby didn’t make it--”

“That’s... not the issue.”

“Okay. Problems breathing? Crippled arm?” Raven looked down at Madam Mallari. “At least tell me if it’s a boy or girl.”

“It’s an egg.”

Raven stared at the midwife. “...what?”

“It’s an egg,” Mallari repeated, lifting up what she was holding for Raven to see.

Smooth, oblong, a pale cyan speckled with black spots. The thing covered in blood and other fluids did, in fact, look like an egg.

“...I want to say this is an absolutely terrible prank,” Raven admitted, “but I can’t quite see how you’d pull this off.”

“I was watching and I still can’t believe it,” Summer murmured.

“Seventh strangest birth I’ve done,” Mallari admitted.

“Yeah, it would--wait.” Raven narrowed her eyes. _“Seventh?”_

Mallari shrugged. “This is Patch,” she said, as though that explained anything.

“A- _huh...”_

“Hmm...” The midwife weighed the object in her hands carefully. “About two feet long... a little large, but factoring in the eggshell it would seem to be about right. Weighs a little less then I expect--not dangerous. Maybe it’s a girl.”

“We’re seriously just--this doesn’t make sense,” Raven pointed out. “This isn’t how anything works.”

“Life works in mysterious ways,” Mallari offered philosophically, wiping the shell off with a towel. “My advice would be to keep the egg warm for the next month. If it’s anything like bird eggs, it should hatch by then. Let me know when it does--or if it doesn’t,” she allowed.

“Could you... maybe drop by every week or so?” Summer asked. “You know, just to check up on things?”

“Of course. We need to set up a nest for this thing before I go, anyway--”

Raven groaned as she swung her legs over the side of the bed, standing up--and wobbling for a moment or two. “No, we aren’t just going to--”

“Raven!” Summer rushed over, keeping her steady. “You just gave birth!”

“I just _laid an egg!”_

“Whatever! You shouldn’t be walking around so soon after that!”

Raven looked her in the eyes. “Summer. I just laid an egg. Which makes not the slightest lick of sense.”

“You are named after a bird,” Mallari pointed out.

“That doesn’t--!” Raven cut herself off. “Wait... _Ozpin.”_

“Raven,” Summer tried warningly.

“That smug little--I need my scroll.” She ripped a drawer out of the nightstand, half-cursing as its contents scattered on the ground. “Damn it, I--”

“I can clean this up,” Summer assured her, pushing her back onto the bed. “You just...” She reached down, picking up a scroll. “You just take a breath and think for a moment--”

“Give me my scroll,” Raven growled.

“Raven--”

“MY. SCROLL.”

Summer sighed, retrieving the small object from the pile on the ground. “Fine. But think about what you’re going to say, alright?”

“Oh I will,” Raven promised as she snatched the small pane of plastic from her. “Trust me, I have a lot of words I want to say right now--”

"I’m going to go to the market and get a dog bed,” Mallari decided. “It would make a good base for the nest. Summer?”

“Yes, Madam Mallari?”

“Could you keep an eye on the egg until I get back? Hold it close, make sure it doesn’t fall, that sort of thing?”

“Wait wait wait,” Raven interjected, “I’m the one that laid the egg and that _still_ feels weird to say, but shouldn’t I be the one that watches it?”

Mallari simply glanced at the drawer she’d torn from the nightstand and quirked an eyebrow.

“...Fair point, but also? Go fuck a beo--”

_“Hello?”  
_

“Ooooooozpin!” Raven said cheerfully, turning to her scroll. “Yeah, I have a bit of a question for you, just a little thing, surely you know the answer, _why the hell did I just lay an egg you jumped up stage magician?!”_

_“...I’m sorry, did you just say you laid an egg?”  
_

“Yes. An egg. A bird egg. Like the kind that birds lay. And I am not a bird. Can you maybe understand why I’m a little confused, Oz? Maybe think, I don’t know, of a reason? Something you could have told me about earlier, hmmmm?”

_“Raven, I assure you that I did not know this would happen. I have never heard of anybody being so affected by the magic--”  
_

“Really? You had _no_ idea at all?”

_“No, I didn’t. I will, of course, offer my expertise in--”  
_

“Don’t bother, you old coot.” Raven hung up with a snarl. “I would STRANGLE him if I didn’t know it wouldn’t be useless--”

“Raven,” Summer said gently, “I get that you’re freaking out. But you should, uh, maybe... take a bit to breathe and recover. And... we can figure out what to do next, maybe?”

“...ugh.” Raven groaned, flopping across the bed. “Sure. Whatever.”

“Melodramatic one, isn’t she?” Mallari observed.

Summer sighed. “You have _no_ idea.”


	6. No Matter How You Slice It...

“...do you think Sienna Khan ever ordered pizza?”

Joanna took a moment to process this. She lifted her head off the makeshift couch of crates, her expression not flickering from neutrality as she shifted her neck to look at May.

“I mean... head of the White Fang. Gets the munchies. But there’s an important meeting, she can’t just skip out.”

“She sends somebody down to the kitchens to get food,” Fiona suggested dryly, not even taking her eyes off the ceiling. “Problem solved.”

May seemed unconvinced. “She has kitchens?”

“She’s the leader of the White Fang. Well, _was.”_

“But that means she was in hiding. From the police and any other people that would want to stop her... So it would probably be, what, an abandoned warehouse at best?”

Joanna groaned, pinching her brow. “May, have you ever _been_ to Mistral?”

“No. My parents were,” and May’s voice fell into the mocking shrillness it always did, “Proper Atlas Citizens who believed the only things of value in all the world could only be found in the city itself. Plenty of old Mistral art, but never actually went... hypocrites.”

“Not that _that’s_ news,” Fiona muttered.

“Haven’t been myself,” Joanna admitted, “but I’ve talked to people who have. It’s big and kinda mazey. Sienna wouldn’t have an abandoned warehouse, she’d have an abandoned palace.”

May finally decided to look at her, an expression of disgusted disbelief on her face. “...who the hell abandons a _palace?”_

“Nobles who couldn’t keep up after the Great War.”

“Huh.” May settled back onto the crate chair. “Yeah, I guess... but nobody came along and reused the palace before Sienna?”

Fiona shrugged against the ground. “Mistral was stupid rich back in the day. I think there's something like... sixteen palaces in the city?”

“And that’s not counting the mansions that aren’t technically palaces,” Joanna added. “There’s a lot of big buildings that Sienna could have set herself up in.”

“Okay, sure. So maybe she had kitchens.” May flopped a hand around in a semi-consolatory gesture. “What I’m asking, though, is did she ever order pizza?”

“Why would she order pizza?” Fiona asked in exasperation.

“People eat pizza sometimes!”

“Some people don’t.”

“Do you really expect me to believe that Sienna Khan never ate pizza?”

“Even if she did, she wouldn’t necessarily have to order it,” Joanna pointed out.

“So now she has pizza chefs?”

“Or she’s got frozen storebought pizzas in the kitchen.”

Fiona propped herself up on one arm. “Why is ordering a pizza the question here? What’s so important about that specifically?”

“It’s just...” May started shaping the scenario with her hands. “Here we have this powerful woman, but she’s also in hiding, and I’m trying to figure out what she can and cannot do because of that. And to get pizza delivered, you have to put out an address and pay the delivery guy, and there’s the details about the order, and would anybody in Mistral want to deliver to Sienna Khan? Would she have to use an alias to convince people?”

Joanna and Fiona shared a matched look of sympathetic realization.

“...White Fang supporters would probably deliver,” Fiona offered.

“Or act as go-betweens,” Joanna added. “Order the pizza themselves, then turn around and send it to her.”

“I... guess that works,” May admitted. “What kind of pizza would she even want, though?”

“Something with meat,” Fiona answered confidently. “Not just pepperoni slices, but real meat she could sink her teeth into.”

That got her a look from May. “...That’s... specific. Suspiciously so.”

“I mean, Sienna... she’s a tiger faunus. Was.” Fiona wrapped her arms around herself. “Was... a tiger faunus.”

“Okay, so I’m going to pull the ‘I grew up in a racist home’ card here and ask what the hell that has to do with anything, because I thought the whole ‘faunus like what their animal halves like’ thing was a stereotype.”

“It’s not so much a faunus thing as it is a Menagerie thing,” Fiona explained. “I mean, ordinary faunus... we kinda subconciously watch ourselves. I don’t act too sheepy because, well, I don’t want to be called just the sheep girl and... and that means I’m aware of my ears. In a different way then I’m aware of my fingers. But with Menagerie...” She rolled a hand. “Faunus who grow up there don’t have all of that. Blake? Her ears are part of her. And more then that--you know Neon Katt?”

May grinned fondly. “Who doesn’t?”

“Do you think she acts like a cat?”

That got a shocked look from May. “Uh... wow. That... that’s a loaded--”

“Right, sorry. What I mean is, a lot of people think she does because she does that whole... nya thing.” Fiona pawed at the air with her fist. “But if you put her and Blake in a room together... Neon doesn’t act like a cat, she acts like some, sort of... cartoon cat character? Blake, though, she actually... I can’t put my finger on it, but sometimes she is more ‘cat’ then not. It’s a Menagerie thing, I don’t know.”

“So because Sienna was a tiger faunus from Menagerie,” Joanna concluded, “you think she’d want meat pizza.”

Fiona chuckled. “Yeah. That about sums it up.”

“...could always just ask Blake,” May mused. “She knew the woman. For a bit, anyway.”

The room fell silent for a bit.

“...we... aren’t putting too much pressure on her, are we?”

May gave Fiona a baffled look. “Who?”

“Blake. She’s a kid--well, a teenager. And she...” Fiona shrugged. “She’s been through a lot. I don’t even know all of it, but from what I’ve seen...”

“Uh... we aren’t pressuring her, though?”

“We kind of are,” Joanna pointed out. “All of the kids, really, asking them to explain what this... Salem crap is. What’s going on with Atlas and...” She trailed off.

“...and Robyn,” Fiona finished quietly.

May flinched. “I mean... they were _there._ Asking about what’s going on isn’t...” She paused. “Well... I guess... but we’re not, like, asking them to be perfect. And we’re not asking for help, that, you know, they wouldn’t be willing to give.”

“They’re willing to give anything,” Joanna said quietly.

The room fell silent once more.

“...Shit.” May stood up. “You know what, we’re getting them pizza.”

“May--”

“Fiona, I don’t care if we have to bake it ourselves, we are getting them pizza.”

Joanna rolled her eyes, standing up. “Hold on, do you even have any idea where to start?”

“No, no I do not. That’s not going to stop me.”

Fiona smirked as she stood and followed the two of them. “Never thought it would.”


	7. Hollow Victory

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cinder Fall is ready to lord over her hated foe. Ruby Rose doesn't get it.
> 
> (Trigger Warning: Cinder does slap Ruby a couple of times.)

Cinder’s glass heels clipped down the shadowed hall as she dragged the bound and blindfolded girl along by a leash. “Come along,” she purred, emphasizing her order with a tug. “We don’t want to keep Salem waiting, do we?”

“Do you really want me to answer that?”

“I suppose it is a bit rhetorical,” Cinder allowed, her smirk not fading in the slightest. “You don’t need to hide how you’re feeling, you know… not anymore.”

“Really? I mean I am a bit thirsty, to be honest–”

She jerked the leash, catching Ruby’s chin with her stygian hand. “I can practically _taste_ the mortal terror rushing through your veins.”

“Um.” Ruby cleared her throat. “When I said thirsty, I meant, like, for water. Not, uh, whatever this is.”

Rapidly approaching footsteps alerted Cinder to the arrival of her disciples (and Neopolitan, who she was sure would become one in time). She released Ruby’s chin, gesturing dramatically to her prize. “Ah, Emerald, Mercury. And Neo, of course. We have a… _guest_ to escort to our master.”

“Hey guys,” Ruby said, nodding vaguely in their direction. “How are things?”

Mercury shrugged. “Eh, could be worse. The free room and board is nice, and Hazel’s a surprisingly good cook.”

“Mercury,” Emerald hissed, “shut up.” She bowed to Cinder, offering her a wary smile. “It is ever a joy to see you, of course, but may I be the first to compliment your skill and cunning on this day?”

Cinder hummed approvingly. “By all means!”

“I… uh…” Emerald faltered a bit, but rallied quickly. “I admire the, uh, ease–the talent! The _talent_ with which you have brought this, uh, rebellious child to heel, and, and can only wish to one day witness even further grandeur!”

“Smooth,” Mercury deadpanned. “Get that out of one of the bodice-rippers Salem pretends not to have?”

Ruby leaned toward his voice. “Wait, Salem reads trashy romance novels?”

Cinder frowned, pushing Ruby back with a single finger and glowering pointedly at Mercury. “Now is not the time for such mediocre attempts at humor,” she reprimanded dryly. “Not now, when in truth we have a great victory to celebrate!”

“Wait, what are you talking about?”

Cinder turned to her prize, dark glee curling her lips into a dangerous grin that Ruby could not see through her blindfold. “Why, your capture, of course. You’ve been such an annoying little thorn in our side, for so very long. But now, now you will pay for all you’ve done.”

“You’re going to fine me?” Ruby asked worriedly. “I don’t even have a lawyer!”

“…She means we’re going to torture you,” Mercury said flatly.

“Oh. Oooooooh, right, queen of the Grimm.” Ruby nodded thoughtfully. “Yeah, I guess she might be a little, uh, aggressive sometimes. Come to think of it, so’s Cinder–is she, like, your mentor or something?”

Cinder stared at Ruby for a few seconds.

Then she slapped her.

“Acfth–! Oh, are we starting now, is that it?”

“Your insolence,” Cinder hissed, “only earns you greater torment in the future.”

“You’re being very poetic,” Ruby observed, seemingly ignoring the faintly bleeding scratches on her cheek. “I mean, with all the fancy words and all–”

Smack went the back of Cinder’s stygian hand, her eye flaring as she sneered at the girl. “Don’t you understand? Our feud has ended. You are at my mercy. I. Have. Won.”

Ruby stared at her for a moment, brows furrowing behind her blindfold. “…Oh.”

Cinder nodded firmly. “Now at last you realize–”

“You see me as a nemesis, don’t you?” she continued in an awkwardly genial tone. “Uh, wow, gee, um… I’m flattered, really, but, I don’t feel the same way.”

_“…what.”  
_

“I mean,” Ruby explained as gently as possible, “sure you’ve done a lot of bad things and I’ve always tried to stop you, but, um…. See, I do that because I’m a Huntress. Saving people is my job, right? And that means killing Grimm and stopping bad people, and–you’re really evil,” she assured Cinder quickly, “don’t think I didn’t notice, but it was always just about making sure you didn’t hurt anyone. Well, anyone you hadn’t already hurt. Or killed.”

Cinder’s grip on the leash was tightening, slowly, sparks of flame crawling from between her fingers.

“And yeah,” Ruby barreled on obliviously, “sure I get really into the fighting, but that’s–that’s just because a good fight, gets the blood pumping, you know? It’s never about who I’m fighting. I’m sorry if I led you on or anything, I never meant to toy with your feelings like that. But, uh, you _are_ pretty evil, and you _have_ hurt a lot of people. Maybe there’s somebody out there that will hate you like you deserve, right? We can just be… hmm. Casual enemies, I guess.”

Out of the corner of her eye, Cinder could see the expressions of her three followers. Emerald’s face was a portrait of slowly growing horror, Mercury was keeping a very carefully neutral face, and Neo was slowly spinning her umbrella on her shoulder with a small, smug smirk.

“And what,” she seethed, “about Beacon? What about what happened on the tower?”

“Oh! Oh, is this what–oh, this is awkward.” Ruby chuckled a bit stiffly. “So, uh, I didn’t even know that the silver eyes were, you know, a thing back then. And I did just see you immolate Pyrrha, so… I guess I let my emotions get the better of me and suddenly, fwoosh! I’m honestly surprised you got hurt by that,” she admitted, “I mean other Maidens have been in the blast and they never got hurt.”

_“What.”_

“Yeah, uh, Raven, Penny now… plus the silver eyes only activate in the presence of the Grimm.” Ruby shrugged, ignoring the faint whiffs of smoke crawling up her leash. “I guess if you had some sort of Grimm essence in your body, my eyes could have… burned it up? And that could be why you got so, uh… you know…”

“The spider-roach,” Emerald breathed. “When you took Amber’s power–”

Cinder silenced her with a glare, but it was too late.

“That could do it,” Ruby admitted. “I mean, I’m not a hundred percent sure, but Salem would know. I’m sure she warned you, right?”

The end of the leash snapped off in Cinder’s grip, embers and flame eating away at the loop.

“So, yeah, that was… way too forward of me,” Ruby admitted. “Way too big an attack. I’m sorry, I should have been more professional.” She gave Cinder an apologetic smile. “What can I say? I was fifteen. Young and stupid.”

The hallway was silent for all of twelve seconds.

Cinder snatched the smoldering tip of the leash, slammed it into Emerald’s hand, and marched briskly away. Nobody reacted until after the clinks of her footsteps had turned the corner.

Then, slowly, deliberately, Neopolitan began to clap, each impact emphasizing the smile spreading across her face.

Mercury shot her a look. “I thought you wanted to kill Ruby too.”

Neo tilted her head for a moment, before waggling a hand noncommitally.

“You only want to kind of kill her?”

“I think that would be maiming,” Ruby mused thoughtfully. “Hey, if you do, can you go for a leg? I mean Yang’s lost an arm, Blake got stabbed in the body, Weiss has a scare on her eye, kinda want to be unique.”

Emerald finally came back to herself. “I should gouge out your eyes!” she snarled, pulling Ruby along. “Disrespecting Cinder like that–”

“Hold on, are _you_ trying to be my nemesis now?”

“SHUT UP! JUST SHUT UP!”


	8. Friction

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally written on my tumblr as a response to a speculatory post:
> 
> https://mwpriddypinkie.tumblr.com/post/633421137470193664/victoria-rostu-what-if-we-get-a-nuts-dolts

Penny and Ruby looked away from each other, arms crossed in identical anger and eyes averted in identical shame.

“I swear,” Nora muttered, “those two make even the most serious heart-wrenching arguments look adorable.”

Weiss rolled her eyes at that. She stepped forward, holding her hands up placatingly. “Look, you two, emotions are running high. But we know we need to stick together, right? This–”

“I’m not going to abandon Penny just because she’s wrong,” Ruby snapped.

It was a wet snap, her voice weighed down with pain and not as sharp as it could be, but it made Penny flinch even so. “The Ace Ops and the… the general have made some bad decisions,” she admitted. “Decisions I don’t agree with. That doesn’t mean they deserve–”

“You want to think they’re good people.”

Ruby and Penny, both not quite turning to look at each other, focused on Blake as she stood.

“That they’re good, moral, upstanding people,” she continued, “who have been led astray by their emotions, by their passions. And that they can still see the light, if shown kindness, compassion… that your love for them will make them better, somehow.”

Weiss cringed, rubbing her arm.

“So you come up with justifications, with… with ways not to see what they’re doing. It’s procedure. Collateral damage. They… they would be worse, without you.” Blake shook her head. “In the end, you put so much of yourself into that relationship… you have to believe that it’s worthwhile, or face that you let yourself be led astray for so long.”

Nora’s eyes softened. “Blake…”

“Maybe some of them are misled, sure. Maybe they’re good moral people that will make the right decision when it comes right down to it. But…”

She sighed, her ears folding back, even though she never broke her gaze.

“Penny… even if that’s true, Ironwood’s hurting things right now. Abandoning Mantle, calling us fugitives for wanting to help them, locking up anybody that criticize him, throwing soldiers against Salem with no plan, and the Ace Ops are supporting him. We have to stand against him now, because right now he’s… as much of a problem as Salem is.”

“But–”

“I know it’s hard,” Blake admitted. “They’re your friends… maybe even as close as family, in a way. I…” She lowered her gaze. “I… had to face my own former friends, once. I was able to get one of them to turn around, but fighting her at all… fighting all of them, really, it hurt a lot. I saved my home, my people, by turning against the organization I had once served–because it wasn’t what it had been anymore. And… as much as I know I did the right thing, it still hurt to do.”

Weiss started as Blake put a hand on her shoulder, looking over to her friend–who still had eyes locked on the upset gynoid.

“I can understand why you don’t want to face this. I didn’t want to face my own… issues, I ran at first. But I found friends who supported me. Pointed out what the group I’d been with was doing was wrong, and helped me even as I worked things out. You have to face this, Penny, and it _will_ hurt, but…”

Her eyes drifted toward Ruby, who was awkwardly wringing her hands.

“…you don’t have to face this alone.”

Penny glanced at Ruby, looking down at her hands. Slowly, she reached out, grabbing them–and Ruby gasped slightly when metal fingers wrapped around her own.

“Penny–”

“I–”

The two of them stopped.

“…I…” Penny paused, tightening her grip on Ruby’s hands. “I… realize you have been hurt a lot by… all this. And… and I will follow your orders, even if I’m… a little… uncomfortable with them–”

“Oh, no no no, Penny, no.” Ruby reached out, gently cradling Penny’s face in one hand. “You’re not my _subordinate_ , you’re my teammate–my _friend_. If you don’t like what I’m asking you to do then _of course_ you should speak up.”

“I know, I just…” Penny sighed. “I know we’re going to wind up fighting the Ace Ops again, and… and maybe even General Ironwood. I just…” She cringed. “I just… don’t… want… to.”

“…Frankly, I don’t want to either,” Ruby admitted. “And… tech-nic-al-ly speaking, I guess it’s possible to save the people of Mantle and get this tower up without, uh, taking the Ace Ops out of the fight–”

“I appreciate that, but…” Penny shut her eyes tightly. “I… I’m a prize to them. The Winter Maiden. Even if they see me as me, they’ll see me as that first, and… and… and they’re going to try to capture me and I’m going to have to restrain them and–”

Ruby said nothing, drawing her into a soft embrace and holding her tightly.

Weiss managed a small, sad smile at the scene. “…Thanks for that, Blake. I…” Her eyes fell to the ground. “…I didn’t know what to do.”

Blake nodded quietly. “I wish she had the time I had to process things…”

“She will.” Nora hefted her hammer. “We’ll make sure of it. You know, after we get the mission done.”

“Right.” Penny broke off the embrace. “The mission. I–” She swallowed. “I… I’ll do my part. I promise.”

“…And I promise that I’m not going to ask you to do anything I don’t absolutely need you to do,” Ruby assured her.

“And _I_ promise to get you gallons of ice cream for a sit-down-and-cry,” Nora said sincerely. “Un…less you don’t eat ice cream. Or… uh… at _all…?”_

“I appreciate the thought, but my father hasn’t figured out artificial taste buds yet,” Penny admitted. “Or tear ducts, actually. I _am_ able to detect airborne chemicals though…”

As the group gathered themselves and prepared to head back out, Ruby put a single hand on Penny’s shoulder. It was a moment, a brief moment, but when Penny awkwardly smiled at her and Ruby just as awkwardly smiled back, it felt like the most important moment in the world.


	9. The Call

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally written on my tumblr:
> 
> https://mwpriddypinkie.tumblr.com/post/634810106656309248/mwpriddypinkie-heres-an-evil-idea-remember-will

Velvet was laughing when her scroll buzzed that fateful day.

She’d always remember that. She was laughing at some ridiculous story Yatsu was telling about his sister, Coco smiling over her shades at her while Fox was nudging her with a knowing grin. It was still early morning, just warm enough to not be too hot, and they’d decided to head out to a little cafe Sun had introduced them to for some breakfast. It was a happy moment, just the team being family, and she thought–as she pulled out the scroll and held up a finger with a giggle–she thought the day was going pretty well, actually.

“Ha, hold on. I should probably…” Velvet looked at the screen and blinked. “Huh. Ruby’s calling me.”

“Ruby?” Coco pulled her shades down slightly. “Didn’t know she was in Vacuo. Say hi to her for us, okay?”

“Sure, sure.” Velvet leaned back in her chair, answering the call. “Ruby! It’s good to hear from you again. How are things?”

“…things…” The voice on the other end of the scroll swallowed. “…things are pretty bad, actually.”

Velvet frowned, leaning forward. “What do you mean?”

“It’s complicated–look, Velvet, we don’t have much time. Where are you?”

“I’m… I’m a few streets away from Shade Academy. Well, if you can call anything in Vacuo a street–”

A sudden noise came from the scroll. It took Velvet a moment to realize it was an explosion–distant, but loud, deep, transmitted through the scroll.

The smile was wiped from her face as she stood up, the sudden action gaining the attention of her team. “Ruby, where _are_ you?”

“Amity Coliseum. In… well, _near_ Atlas.”

“You’re in Atlas?!”

“What?” Yatsuhashi looked at Velvet in shock. “She’s in Atlas?”

“Did they fix the CCT?” Coco wondered.

“Close enough, anyway.” Ruby’s voice was more serious then Velvet could ever remember it being. “I need you to get a message to–to headmaster Theodore, first, and then to Glynda Goodwitch. Can you do that?”

Velvet blinked, looking at the scroll warily. “I can. Hold on a sec.” Her fingers tapped a few keys on the screen, putting it down on the table. “Okay, I’m recording.”

For a moment, there was silence. And then, the voice spoke again, this time for the whole team to hear.

“This is Ruby Rose, broadcasting via the newly launched Amity Communications Tower. All standard Atlesian and International channels should be open again, but Atlesian channels are currently restricted due to–”

Another explosion, closer, came through the speakers. Coco gripped the arm of her chair.

“…due to the invasion,” Ruby continued.

Fox inhaled sharply. <Who could possibly–>

“Salem has invaded Atlas.” The huntress was struggling to keep her voice level, and only mostly succeeding. “The city is grounded, and she’s taken most of it. The remnants of the Atlesian military are centered around the Academy. We’ve gathered the civilians into Amity colosseum for the time being–”

_“There’s a break in the mountains!”_ somebody in the background shouted.

“–but we’re not going to be able to hold out long. Salem has the Staff of Creation now, I don’t think she knows how to use it, but we’ve got the Relic of Knowledge and the Winter Maiden–”

_“Shit! The whale’s coming!”  
_

“–but even with that she has an army and we desperately need help. This isn’t just a horde of Grimm anymore–this is an army. An army led by the same woman who demanded the fall of Beacon. If you are listening to this, send help– _any_ help! I don’t care if it’s academy dropouts, a bandit tribe, or a lone sheriff with a gun–we cannot survive this alone, and we need all the help we can get.”

The entire team was watching the tiny scroll with a feeling of dawning dread.

“I’m transmitting from Amity Coliseum. It was made to bring us all together. We _are_ stronger together. The kingdom of Atlas has screwed up a lot, I know, but right now its citizens–who had no way to stop that–are facing their doom. You can stop that– _we_ can stop that. Please… send help. This is Ruby Rose, over and out.”

Carefully, slowly, Velvet reached out and tapped the screen again. “…I… I got all that, Ruby.”

There was a sigh. “Good. Theodore, then Glynda–as fast as you can, Blake’s already called people in Mistral.”

“Of course, I’ll head up right–”

“Velvet… there’s something else you need to know.”

The softness of Ruby’s voice tightened around her neck.

“We needed… we needed codes to get the tower launched, and… and we met somebody who helped us. Will Scarlatina…”

Velvet had heard the quaver in Ruby’s voice before, so familiar from all the meetings with the Beacon Brigade.

“He…”

Her heart stopped at the pause.

No.

No, please…

Ruby wouldn’t _say_ it, she _couldn’t_ say it–

“Velvet, he… he was a very brave man–”

A half-choked sob lodged itself in her chest, the full meaning of the words spreading through her like a swarm of deathstalkers as she fell back into her chair.

“–and I wish I could give you the time to grieve you need, I really do–”

Vaguely, she felt Coco’s hand on her own. She didn’t dare look up into her face, not yet, not while–

“–but the situation here is desperate, and–”

_“Ruby! We need you outside NOW!”  
_

“…Velvet… we’re all counting on you. I’m so sorry.”

The scroll call cut off suddenly.

Velvet’s eyes locked onto the tiny little rectangle, even as her vision blurred with tears. Another hand… and another. Her team, she knew that, it wasn’t like it could be anybody else…

“Dad…”

A single, weak word.

“…Velvet.” Coco wrapped her arms around her gently. “I… just…. come here, okay? Just come here.”

Velvet complied, leaning into her. She swallowed, gesturing at the scroll. “We… we need to–”

“Fox and I can do that,” Yatsuhashi said quietly. “We’ll call when we get up there.”

Velvet nodded, burying her head into Coco’s shoulder. She heard them go–of course…

…but…

For the time, at least, her world was just a brown shirt, soft hands stroking her, and the sudden void left by a vanished part of her soul.


	10. The Agony Of Monstra

When Monstra was a freshly spawned hunger, her life was simple enough. She swam with her pod, chomped at the floatcarts of the lightspawn, and reveled in their demise. Some of her pod would die, of course. She did eventually realize it was inconvenient, hunting alone, and did her best to keep the others safe, but by that point it was a small group. A few more mistakes, and she was alone.

Well... the only hunger of her kind, anyway. There were plenty more swimming in the sea. The smaller ones listened to her, wills bending as she set them on the floatcarts... and she learned. Oh she learned much. How to be unseen. Where to chomp the best. The joys of fear and desperation, the particular flavors of negativity. She learned, she learned that if she stayed in one place, the lightspawn would avoid it, so she began to move through the waters. It was her dark home. The endless death.

Monstra was... not content, a hunger could never be content, but accepting of her realm. She grew, and grew, and grew, in size and in mind and in servants. She grew to be a legend, though she did not know it, she grew to be a potent hunger, a consumer. Some would say she was as large as a city--and, at this point, that was only a slight exaggeration. Monstra, ancient and hungry, followed her lust for destruction. She was... not content, but as close perhaps as one of her ilk could be.

And then one night, beneath the shattered moon, came the Singer.

Monstra knew instantly the Singer was wrong. She shone like a lightspawn and growled like a hunger, used power like the destroyer and smelled like the creator. The Singer was outside anything that Monstra had ever experienced... but she'd experienced enough to know that anything new was probably some weapon of the lightspawn, some unknown claw or fang, and therefore could end her path. So she did the wisest thing she could--she swam, as fast and as far as she could.

The Singer gave chase, oh the Singer gave chase. Monstra flung the lesser hungers at her, and the Singer bent their will and Monstra, for the first time, was forced to fight her own kind. Easy, simple, but not as rewarding as destroying lightspawn. She swam deeper into the depths than any before, where even the water crushed, and that gave her some reprieve--but the Singer followed quickly in a bubble of power. And twenty one tides later Monstra decided to fight, to see how the Singer would destroy her, to make sure all the hungers watching knew.

Sacrifice was well known among them--the destruction of one to allow others to destroy. Rare was it that a hunger sacrificed themself. Monstra was willing to end to ensure endings. The Singer, though, was crueler even then that. The Singer would not submit to destruction, and would not submit her to destruction either.

Great bellows wrecked the watery rocks beneath as the Singer carved into her. She felt her flesh torn and mangled by piercing and heat and yet, she was not allowed to die. The Singer's servant hungers laid hard bone in the tunnels, the light of ancient power keeping them from healing or fading in equal amount. Some were melded into her, into walls and floors that she could not see, as the Singer tormented her again and again and again.

Monstra felt it then, felt the tell-tale pitter of lightspawn feet within her head. And she screamed--not the first of her kind to scream, but the first so great--oh she screamed as the Singer began to lay a great form, welded from servant hungers into the very core of her self. The pain, the pain, immense, as immense as she, and though there was no sympathy for all she had destroyed she felt in that moment that perhaps they would accept her, if scar matched scar.

How long did it take? A thousand tides, or less than one? Yet in the end it was over, and the Singer sat upon a hidden throne. The song commanded, stronger than any other hunger, and Monstra feebly attempted resistance... once. Only once. But it is in the nature of the hungers to follow the greatest hunger, and after a demonstration of the Singer's destruction Monstra complied. Some dim, distant part of her, a part that had watched her podmates die, whispered. Suggested that perhaps, the spears were gone now. That no further pain was forthcoming.

Oh but what awaited! She was made to rest in a bay, watched the Singer leave, and thought maybe, maybe this was it. Maybe she was a triumph, displayed for all. Some hungers did that. Did lightspawn do that? Perhaps, perhaps... and then the Singer came back, with great spires of power, and she rose them high. And Monstra had but a moment to realize what was intended before she was pierced--again, and again, and again and again and again--purple spires bursting from her back and her belly and screams echoing the lonely bay.

And she was not allowed to perish. Nay, though the pain was great enough to produce sound that shattered mountains, the servant hungers within her kept her alive. And the Singer saw this, and proclaimed it good. A meaningless word to Monstra, who had previously had no concept of evil. Perhaps it was growing, perhaps she would comprehend it, but the Singer sat and the idea was thrust away.

The tides passed in a mist of pain and action, as she learned to swim in the air, to speak with the servant hungers, to allow the lightspawn the Singer favored passage within her. Monstra learned of new forms of destruction. Of new lusts. Of new urges. Monstra, trapped in pain and made to serve, found something so few hungers ever wanted. An urge to destroy herself. Just to end her world of suffering, so easily.

And yet...

and yet.

And yet, though it was new to her, it was ancient to the Singer. And the Singer, who spoke from experience, told Monstra the truth--that she would never be able to kill herself, that she could not escape her suffering from that route.

And Monstra had no eyes with which to weep.


	11. There's nothing to talk about.

She doesn’t talk about it. There’s nothing to talk about.

Oh, sure, the things that _happened,_ those were frightening. In that one instant she felt her aura breaking, saw the horror coming over miss Nikos’ face, heard the crunch of metal as the wires wrapped around her, and she knew this was it. This was the moment, and she braced herself, hoping against hope that she would go on to wherever it was real girls went, so many regrets and fears boiling in her processors even as she was torn apart and her systems reported every last error...

...and then she was awake again, and everything felt off but her father was there and there was something _wrong_ about him too, he was coughing more often, but he was smiling, and she smiled too and she was _alive,_ how incredible was that? With a body so much like the one she had sketched once, early in her testing, that he’d kept that around and made her new one like it...

But then she found out she had been in pieces for months. And that Beacon...

Her friends...

She doesn’t talk about it. There’s... nothing to talk about.

She didn’t know Yang that well, but Yang was Ruby’s sister, so of course she asked her father to make the new arm. She didn’t know Weiss as well either, but Weiss was Ruby’s partner, and--and if Penny couldn’t reach her, kept in the labs as she was while the tests went on, then at least she could learn about her by talking to Winter. She barely knew Blake, but from what little she knew of her Blake had... something to do. Nobody knew where she went.

And Ruby... Well, as much as she talked about Ruby, asked about Ruby, there was no way to find her. All she knew for certain was that she was alive.

The first few weeks were just making sure she was still working, still herself. The general visited, and he seemed... different. More facial hair, obviously, but he... he didn’t seem to see her, exactly. Not until she asked about Ruby. Even then, his focus was momentary, long enough to reassure her, and then...

So much had changed.

The people she knew, all different....

She doesn’t talk about it, there’s nothing to talk about.

Her original weapons were destroyed, of course. But it was easy to make new ones, better ones. Her body was better too--it was actually feminine, instead of the androgynous base form she’d had before. Not that she had ever complained, she knew keeping her frame standardized was for the best, but now she had long hair and actual hips and... well. It also came with many, many useful little gadgets and upgrades, since she didn’t have to hide what she was anymore--

Everyone knew.

And they... they treated her differently.

She was the Protector of Mantle. Sure, mister Ironwood had said she was supposed to look for Salem’s agents, but he couldn’t really mean that was all being the Protector was, right? She was skilled. She could do so much more than just spy on people. She fought Grimm whenever they came into the city and... well... it was a lot. But it kept her working, kept her mind off...

She doesn’t talk about it there’s nothing to talk about.

Fight Grimm. Help people with their things. And miss Hill... Robyn... she really seemed nice! Especially after that handshake. Winter seemed nice too, whenever she went up to Atlas to file her reports on not finding Salem’s agents. She wasn’t sure why Winter didn’t seem to want to talk to Robyn, they both cared so much about the people, about Atlas--well, alright, Robyn cared about Mantle. Which was, technically, part of the city of Atlas, right?

She’d asked her father about that once. He’d said it was complicated, and tried to explain... but somehow, she still couldn’t understand it. People were people. That was... that was the rule. That was the entire reason she was the protector of Mantle. But whenever she talked about Mantle in Atlas, everyone would act as though she was being childish, and whenever she talked about Atlas in Mantle... she’d learned very quickly not to talk about Atlas in Mantle. And...

Shedoesn’ttalkaboutit there’snothingtotalkabout--

AND NOW RUBY WAS HERE! Ruby and all her friends and, well, some old guy and a boy and an old woman and sure, yes, the Ace Ops made things a bit awkward when they arrested her friends instead of just inviting them up but it was, well, their job, right? And her friends understood. Following orders, like responsible huntsmen... or soldiers...? Ruby at least took time to talk to her. Not even Ceil did anymore.

And it was good. It is good. It’s really good, to be with her friends from Beacon. She enjoys every little chat they have, hearing about Weiss’s reactions to things from outside Atlas, watching Yang and Blake be such good partners--she has to wonder, really, if they’re still just partners, relationships are so varied and she knows some things are different for different people. And of course there’s team JNPR--well... Jaune and Nora and Ren. It is... good to know that they, that they’d managed to, uh, that--

Nothingtotalkaboutnothingtotalkaboutnothingtotalkabout--

And, and, and, and yes, she got framed for murder, for assault. Yes, she had to stay in the lab, while... while things were sorted out. And then... then the heat got turned off, and Grimm were coming in, and, and she helped! She helped save... she was saving people, and they called her their defender, and Ruby was next to her and everything was right, even with everything being horrible, and...

then...

She doesn’t... talk about it.

She doesn’t.

There’s nothing to talk about.

She holds the old woman’s hands, now. She holds them. She sees her breath fading. She feels... something. Something flow into her. She feels it... slink around her soul.

There's nothing to talk about.

Nothing.

And yet...

She hopes, perhaps, that next time she dies, there might be something.


	12. A Gasp In The Storm

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Somebody commissioned some Nuts and Dolts, so here it is: Nuts and Dolts oneshot. Spoilers for V8.

> \--Run:BootUp.Prtc  
> \--Pwr:On  
> \--DstWrk:Active  
> \--Warning! DstWrk diagnostic: Damage! 67% capacity  
> \--Interface: Dermis  
> \--Warning! Dermis diagnostic:  
> \----[3] major breaches  
> \----[12] lacerations  
> \----[147] significant abrasions  
> \--DIRECTIVE: OPEN THE VAULT  
> \--Error: Program “Directive” not recognized  
> \--MtrSys:Active  
> \--Interface: Audio(Input)

“...won’t let her get you, Ruby. We promise.”

A brief moment of silence.

“Weiss... that’s not what I’m worried about.”

> \--Interface:Camera1  
> \--Interface:Camera2  
> \--FaceSys:Active  
> \--AudioSys:Active

“Back in Ironwood’s office, when Salem was... talking, she said... she said my mom had...” A shuddering breath. “Weiss. My mom, she went to fight Salem.”

“...Oh Ruby--”

The room she woke up in was familiar, vaguely. She’d been here before. She groaned, sitting up and flinching as her systems warned her about the damage to her side.

“Penny!” Ruby broke out of Weiss’s grip, coming over quickly. “How are you?”

The ginger gynoid gave her a weak smile. “I am--”

> \--DIRECTIVE: OPEN THE VAULT

_“--Hnngh--!”_

> \--Cmnd: Shut Down Program “Directive”  
> \--Error: Program “Directive” not found

“--not... operating at peak efficiency,” Penny admitted, cringing. “There is something wrong with me, and... and I don’t know how to fight it off--”

Ruby took her hand gently. “We’ll help you, Penny, I promise!”

“Thank you, Ruby.” Penny ran over her memory files and winced. “Oh no, Klein!”

“I’m quite alright, miss.” The man standing in the corner waved, wincing as he put his hand on his waist. “It’ll take more than a couple of shoves to knock me down,” he growled. “And it _certainly_ is not your fault,” he assured her calmly.

“That is--”

> \--DIRECTIVE: OPEN THE VAULT  
> \--Cmnd: Activate Firewalls

“--G-g-good to hear,” Penny ground out. “Ruby, I--I’m trying to hold this off, but if I can’t--”

“I know you will!” Ruby hugged her, tears in her eyes. “Penny--”

“Ruby!” Penny pushed her back. “I don’t want to hurt you!”

Her soul ached at the wounded look on Ruby’s face, even as Weiss put a hand on her partner’s shoulder.

“I... I’m sorry.” She wrapped her arms around herself, shamefully bowing her head. “I’m a danger to everyone here--the General is after me, Cinder attacked me, that Grimm came for me--”

“Penny...”

Penny looked up at Blake. “It’s true!”

“It’s true that being around you is dangerous.” Blake gently sat down next to her. “Because so many dangerous people want you for their own purposes. And maybe you’re right, maybe you yourself are dangerous too.”

> \--DIRECTIVE: OPEN THE VAULT  
> \--Cmnd: Set MtrSys to MnCntrl

“But we all already know that. And we’ve accepted those risks because we care about _you,_ Penny.” Blake had a sad smile. “I know what it’s like to want to think you’re the problem and removing yourself would be better for them. But pushing people away... it hurts them so much more than letting them in.”

Penny blinked, Blake’s words sinking in even as she turned to look at Ruby... at Ruby and her sad silver eyes.

“...I don’t want to lose myself,” she admitted quietly. “I don’t want to... but if I--”

> \--DIRECTIVE: OPEN THE VAULT  
> \--Alert!: MtrSys set to AutoCntrl  
> \--Cmnd: Run DeFrag.Prtc

“--if I do,” she managed, “please, just-- just make sure you stay far enough away that I can’t reach you.”

“Penny--”

“Ruby!” Penny locked her eyes. “Please...”

Ruby opened her mouth, but shut it, choking back her first reply. “...I... I’ll find a way to get you back,” she said instead. “I can promise that.”

Penny sighed. “Ruby, that Grimm came for me, it said... so...?” She blinked for a moment. “Is my memory corrupted? I didn’t think Grimm could talk.”

“No, it--” Weiss shook her head. “It wasn’t just a normal Grimm. Salem...” She glanced at Ruby, her grip tightening. “She found a way to combine Grimm and people, somehow. There was... there was a person in there.”

“A person?”

Ruby nodded. “A person with... with silver eyes.”

“Silver eyes...” Penny’s eyes widened. “You mean like--?!”

> \--DIRECTIVE: OPEN THE VAULT  
> \--Error: DeFrag.Prtc cannot be interrupted  
> \--Cmnd: Report DeFrag.Prtc progress  
> \----DeFrag.Prtc completion: 17%

“---gnnnaaaa!” Penny clutched her head as the pain filtered back in.

“Oh god--Weiss! Is there, like, some sort of signal-blocking room in the mansion?”

“I... I don’t know, maybe one of the wine cellars--”

“I’ll go check,” Klein offered, briskly walking out the door. “Miss Blake, keep an eye on the patient!”

Blake nodded, quickly heading over to the bed where Nora--oh, oh Nora, she--

> \--DIRECTIVE: OPEN THE VAULT  
> \--Error: DeFrag.Prtc cannot be interrupted  
> \--Cmnd: Report DeFrag.Prtc progress  
> \----DeFrag.Prtc completion: 23%

“Penny!” Ruby was at her side again, careful to put herself in a position where she could move away quickly. “Is, is there anything I can do?! Uh, some sort of... damn it, I’m better with physical machines than computers--”

“Just... talk,” Penny said, between breaths. “Give me something to focus on that, that isn’t this. Silver eyes. Grimm. That, that sounded important--”

“W...well.” Ruby swallowed. “Salem knows how to turn silver-eyed warriors into super-Grimm. The person inside the Grimm that attacked us, he--parts of his skin were torn off, and his arm was literally just bones--”

> \--DIRECTIVE: OPEN THE VAULT  
> \--Error: DeFrag.Prtc cannot be interrupted

“S-Salem,” Penny hissed. “She, if she gets you--”

“Yeah. I know.”

“You can’t let her.” She clung to Ruby’s arm. “Promise. You won’t let her get you!”

“...Penny.” Ruby looked at her. “My mom... she had silver eyes. And she went to fight Salem years ago...”

“...oh.”

Oh.

“That... Ruby, I--

> \--DIRECTIVE: OPEN THE VAULT  
> \--Error: DeFrag.Prtc cannot be interrupted

“Penny?!”

“...must open--NO! No... not yet!”

“Penny--”

“Open the--” Penny’s eyes widened. “Open the container! Ruby!” She clung to her arm. “Your semblance!”

Ruby’s terrified confusion was clear on her face, but she didn’t back off. “Penny, I don’t understand--”

“Deconstruct, and reconstruct! You don’t have to put things together the same way you took them apart!”

“Wha...what’s that got to do with anything--?”

> \--DIRECTIVE: OPEN THE VAULT  
> \--Error: DeFrag.Prtc cannot be interrupted  
> \--Cmnd: Report DeFrag.Prtc progress  
> \----DeFrag.Prtc completion: 72%

Penny fought back the wave of pain that wracked her systems. “Your mom... inside the Grimm,” she sputtered. “If--if you use your semblance, you, you can, se--se--se, per, ate--”

“I can... separate her?” Ruby’s eyes widened. “From the Grimm?!”

> \--DIRECTIVE: OPEN THE VAULT  
> \--Error: DeFrag.Prtc cannot be interrupted

“Penny... why are you telling me this?” Ruby’s voice was quiet, pleading. “Even if it works, I--I’d have to find her first, and you’re suffering now, _why--?”_

“Be-cause...” Penny struggled to keep herself above the constant alerts and warnings flooding her input. “Because you--”

> \--DIRECTIVE: OPEN THE VAULT  
> \--Error: DeFrag.Prtc cannot be interrupted

“--hrrng--back in Vale, you gave me--”

> \--DIRECTIVE: OPEN THE VAULT  
> \--Error: DeFrag.Prtc cannot be interrupted  
> \--DeFrag.Prtc complete

“--ha, _ha,_ hope, and I wanted--”

> \--DIRECTIVE: OPEN THE VAULT  
> \--Cmnd: No

“--AAAAAGH! _I wanted to give you that too!”_

> \--DIRECTIVE: OPEN THE VAULT  
> \--Cmnd: Stop!  
> \--DIRECTIVE: OPEN THE VAULT  
> \--Cmnd: Stop it!

“Penny?!” Ruby grabbed her shoulder. “PENNY!”

> \--Alert!: MtrSys set to Remote Control

Ruby was shoved back, Weiss barely managing to catch her with a glyph.

“I can’t--I’m sorry, I--”

> \--DIRECTIVE: OPEN THE VAULT  
> \--Alert!: AudioSys set to Remote Control

“--must open the vault,” Penny heard herself say in a calm, measured voice.

Ruby pushed herself up, her face a mix of pain and grim determination. “Penny... you don’t need to do anything to give me hope.”

> \--Alert!: Camera1 set to Remote Access  
> \--Alert!: Camera2 set to Remote Access  
> \--Warning!: Camera1 direct connection deactivated  
> \--Warning!: Camera2 direct connection deactivated

As the world snapped to black, Penny heard Ruby say one last thing. “You do that just by being you.”

> \--Alert!: Audio(input) set to Remote Access  
> \--Warning!: Audio(input) direct connection deactivated

Penny’s world became nothing more than alerts and inputs. She reached out, scrabbling against the booming DIRECTIVE that blocked her from her own body, a small form on the back of a Megoliath.

And then...

then she felt something brush against her. A hand. A familiar hand, holding hers.

> \--Cmnd: Ruby...  
> \--Cmnd: ...You give me hope too.  
> \--Cmnd: Hold on for me. I’ll be back.

And, somehow, despite Ruby not being able to hear her, she felt the hand squeeze tighter.


End file.
